


black, white, lemon, or lime

by deeppainpizza



Category: Tiger & Bunny
Genre: Established Relationship, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Moving In Together, One Shot, Relationship Reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-07
Updated: 2019-07-07
Packaged: 2020-06-24 03:41:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19715521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deeppainpizza/pseuds/deeppainpizza
Summary: “I can’t believe you keep these next to your bed,” Bunny says once Kotetsu makes it up the stairs, and he pauses his train of thought. For a half-second, he wonders if there’s anything incriminating kept on his bookshelf – and if he did leave anything, it should have been pretty well buried, so how far did Bunny dig? – but once he’s closer, he peeks over Bunny’s shoulder and sees a familiar blue spandex suit.“Hey! That’s me!”Bunny’s sprawled on his bed on his stomach, still undressed, magazine spread open on the pillow. “Don’t tell me you reread your old interviews before bed. Is that why you keep them so close?”





	black, white, lemon, or lime

_for what it’s worth_  
_wherever you are, nearby or far_  
_black, white, lemon, or lime  
_ _i hope you last a long, long time_

(made to last, semisonic)

* * *

The toothbrushes on his bathroom sink have gone from two, to three, to two, to three.

His and Tomoe’s in their first apartment, a cheap one-bedroom when they first moved to Sternbild. Two toothbrushes in an old ugly cup.

Later, his and Tomoe’s toothbrush and Kaede’s little baby one. A two-bedroom this time with three toothbrushes.

Then, things happened. He moved to his current apartment – practically one room in its entirety – and had his own and Kaede’s. Hers was kept on the sink until he moved it to the drawer for safekeeping between her visits.

Now, as she visits more often, it stays out. And as Bunny stays over more frequently, his toothbrush is on constant display next to Kotetsu’s.

Back to three.

“Huh,” Kotetsu murmurs, warmth in his chest, and finishes brushing his teeth.

* * *

“I can’t believe you keep these next to your bed,” Bunny says once Kotetsu makes it up the stairs, and he pauses his train of thought. For a half-second, he wonders if there’s anything incriminating kept on his bookshelf – and if he did leave anything, it should have been pretty well buried, so how far did Bunny dig? – but once he’s closer, he peeks over Bunny’s shoulder and sees a familiar blue spandex suit.

“Hey! That’s me!”

Bunny’s sprawled on his bed on his stomach, still undressed, magazine spread open on the pillow. “Don’t tell me you reread your old interviews before bed. Is that why you keep them so close?”

“ _No_ ,” Kotetsu says, climbing over Bunny’s butt to reach the empty side of the bed, “I didn’t even know they were there.”

At that, Bunny looks up from the print, slight confusion on his face, then looks to him. “How do you not know where your belongings are?”

“Because some people own more than, like, five things.”

Bunny rolls his eyes – he doesn’t take the bait, Kotetsu’s razzed him on this enough – and flips the page. There’s another photo spread of him, more columns of text, and Kotetsu lifts part of the page to see four more magazines underneath.

“Is that all of them?” Kotetsu asks, legitimately unsure. He _doesn’t_ look at these. The organization of his apartment was an afterthought; his priorities were unpacking, finding a place where something would fit, and getting back to work. After that, it moved further down his to-do list, then eventually forgotten entirely as it didn’t really matter.

“You tell me.”

“I don’t know either!”

“These were clustered together, then it seemed to turn into comic books? I stopped looking.”

“Oh, which series?”

Again, Bunny looks at him, unimpressed and wordlessly telling him _“I said I stopped looking, so I don’t know, look yourself,”_ so Kotetsu drops it because he’s not getting out of bed now that’s back in it.

“Okay, okay.” Kotetsu shifts closer, reading over his shoulder. “I don’t even know what I said in there, it was so long ago. What’s it say?”

“Things that you’ve said recently.”

“Huh?”

“Literally. You repeat yourself. This was, what, seven years ago? You said this exact line in an interview a month ago.” Bunny points it out, voice terse, and Kotetsu laughs out loud as Bunny reads over him. “‘The Crusher of Justice crushes for _you_ – the people of Sternbild.’”

“Okay, in my defense–”

“There’s nothing to defend here,” Bunny replies in a way that suggests he can’t reason his way out of his transgressions.

“ _In my defense_ , interviewers really need to come up with better questions! How many times am I supposed to answer the same question in a different way? Nothing’s changed! Of course I still feel the way I felt before!”

Bunny frowns. “I could grant you that. I _am_ frequently asked similar-sounding questions.” Kotetsu thinks he might be safe, that the topic will change, but Bunny continues, mad again. “But you should still talk about more than your morals and motivations. It will bump your appeal by making you more relatable, and in turn, give you more opportunities for sponsorships. How many times have I told you this? Want to pay off your fines? Talk more. This interview encapsulates exactly what I mean.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Kotetsu dismisses and slides out a magazine from the bottom of the pile Bunny’s made, then flops onto his back, holding the pages open above his head.

He skims it over and Bunny might have a point. With his identity revealed, he probably could talk a little more about himself now. Before, he had to keep Tomoe and Kaede out of the spotlight, could never acknowledge them even though the other half of his life revolved around them.

Now… well, Bunny’s already in the spotlight more than anyone.

Inevitably, the press will talk once they officially become “an item.” Hell, they talk if Bunny goes to a different coffee shop. If that earns a blurb, how much space are they going to grant them once they come out with it?

The two of them have played it safe for the past year – no public displays of affection, no changes to their public behavior (they haven’t even told their friends, but as of a few weeks ago, they took the leap of letting his family know) – and they’ve both been fine with that.

After so much of his life both past and present have been put on blast for public discussion, Bunny specifically wanted to keep it private for now, preserve it until he was ready to reveal it himself. Which made sense, on top of being a huge relief.

For Kotetsu, it was a commitment that he had to come to terms with, regardless of how much he wanted it. Didn’t want to cause a shitstorm only for them to break-up in a few weeks once they found out that they really were better off as just friends. There was too much at risk to begin with; they didn’t want to involve the rest of the world, too.

A year later, they know it wasn’t a mistake. They stay over at each other’s places all the time (which, fortunately, they already did before... in a _different_ context), and Bunny keeps a toothbrush here. They share meals together, do chores and errands together, sleep in the same bed more often than not.

Maybe it’s time for another leap, he thinks. The kind where they don’t have to go to separate apartments to get fresh clothes or keep up appearances. Waiting was only for their own sake, and well–

“So glad they updated your suit, you desperately needed it…” Bunny mumbles, looking at a different interview now, and Kotetsu frowns.

“Way to kill the mood,” he accuses, sinking further into his side of the bed.

Bunny chuckles, unconcerned. “What mood?”

* * *

“Hey,” Kotetsu finally says over breakfast after unceremoniously clearing his throat (and after staying up an hour after Bunny fell asleep the night before, reminding himself of every event that led them to this point and arguing with himself that it’s absolutely a good decision), “what would you say to the idea of moving in with me?”

Instead of the enthusiastic “yes” he hoped for or the “no” he prepared himself for, Bunny shoots back: “Just ask me directly.”

“I just did–”

Unfazed as he pours Kotetsu another cup of coffee from the French press he brought here – toothbrush, clothes, French press, what else is left for him to move here anyway? – Bunny replies coolly, “No, you’re asking me to approve a concept. Ask me.”

“Damn it, it’s the same thing– but _fine_.”

Finished with the pour, Bunny finally turns his attention to him, straightening up as he waits.

“Will you,” Kotetsu starts slowly, tongue grating against his self-preserving nature as he asks without the comfortable veneer of casual suggestion, “move in with me? Officially.”

“Sure,” Bunny says blandly, and goes back to the kitchen.

No fanfare, no excitement. Did he ask him to move in or split another piece of toast? Kotetsu yells, “Is that it?!”

“What else were you expecting?” Back turned to Kotetsu as he sets the French press back on the counter, Bunny’s voice has shifted into something lighter, filtered through a smile. “I already almost live here.”

“So, what, this weekend? What’s left will probably fit in my car.”

“My wardrobe will _not_ fit in your car.”

“So we rent a truck.” Kotetsu rests his hand on his chin, grinning cheekily to address the elephant in the room that neither of them are truly intimidated by. The hard part is over. “And what are you gonna do when the paparazzi catch us moving you out of your place?”

“Let the press do whatever they’d like; they’ll catch on regardless. An official announcement of our status might seem out of place.”

“That’s usually for, like, weddings.”

“Exactly.” Bunny turns to him again, leaning back against the counter with his arms over his chest. “And how do you feel about it?”

“Kaede already knows. Everyone else after that is just peanuts.”

Cocking up an eyebrow, Bunny asks, “What about your mother?”

Kotetsu splutters briefly, then slams one fist on the table and uses his other hand to point at Bunny. “She found out at the same time because Kaede screamed and you know that – you were there!”

“I just thought she might be interested in knowing she was lumped in with the rest of the peanuts.”

“ _My family_ knows, so everyone else is just peanuts. Is that better?”

Bunny scoffs – sort of an approval, sort of an indicator that he’s finished pulling his leg – and comes back to the table, before his mood shifts back to his signature seriousness. “And you know that it’s permanent, right? Once they know.”

“Duh,” Kotetsu replies, knowing that ‘they’ refers to the tabloids they’ve been carefully avoiding, “so it doesn’t really matter how they find out. Aside from, like, preferring that it’s not because of, you know, something risque… or something.”

Humming curiously, Bunny drinks from his own cup of coffee. “If that’s how you feel about it. I can’t say I disagree.”

Then, life continues on normally. They do the dishes, finish getting ready, and go to work. There’s a vague intention of moving Bunny in when they get the chance and it’s no more complicated than that.

* * *

Kotetsu settles in later that night, cracks open a cold beer just as Bunny’s live interview begins. Solo tonight, some new fragrance line.

This time, when the talk show asks the age-old question of Bunny’s romantic pursuits, Bunny responds in a new way by confirming he _has_ been seeing someone.

“O-Oh!” The host stammers, caught off-guard by being handed the juiciest story in recent months on a silver platter, “can I ask who?”

Already choking on his beer, Kotetsu almost misses the way Bunny smiles charmingly and asks the host, “Would you be surprised if I said Tiger?”

He’s glad he didn’t try to immediately drink away the upset in his throat, because he starts to choke anew, stomping his feet as he catches his breath.

_Well_ , Kotetsu thinks as he wipes his mouth, phone already ringing and vibrating loudly on the coffee table, _that’s it, then._

(He lets the calls go to voicemail, then calls Bunny once the show is over to ask him about the change of heart. “No change of heart,” Bunny replies warmly, voice far too serene in his ear. “I simply saw an opportunity to answer a question differently.”)

**Author's Note:**

> belated birthday gift for a friend! by which i mean i've been writing it chunks since her birthday and sharing updates. NOW it's at the point where i can post it! happy birthday kariedo @ tumblr!


End file.
